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Due to construction in the area, please allow extra travel time when visiting Harbourfront Centre. Details here.

Tirgan | July 18-21

Ajam

Friday, July 19 & Saturday, July 20 | WestJet Stage

Love Stories of the Shahnameh

Friday, July 19 – Sunday, July 21 | Fleck Dance Theatre

Persian Cooking Demonstration

Saturday, July 20 & Sunday, July 21 | Lakeside Terrace

Lake View Market

Fab finds from all corners of the globe all summer long!

World Café

The best cuisine from around the world all summer long!
Ajam
Love Stories of the Shahnameh
Persian Cooking Demonstration
Lake View Market
World Café
And much more!

Through music, dance, theatre, cinema, literature, visual arts, food and crafts, Tirgan Festival highlights the richness of the contemporary and traditional art and culture of Iran. Most events FREE.

Visit the Tirgan Festival website for complete festival details.

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You immersed yourself in Iranian arts and culture. Tell us your story.

Curatorial Statement

Millions of years ago when our ancestors stood on the edge of a diminishing, threatened habitat and looked into the vast terrain that became Africa, the first sparks of "hope" were ignited in humanity. It was hope that reinforced our courage to embrace change, move forward and overcome danger. One may argue that even before tool making and the invention of fire and language, hope is what gave humanity an edge to survive and thrive in circumstances which ninety-eight percent of everything living succumbs to extinction.

Modern civilization was nurtured by hope in the power of humankind to affect humanity. It was hope that elevated us to the peaks of our individual and collective accomplishments and it was hope that fueled our perseverance to overcome the natural and self-inflicted devastations that plagued us throughout history. Hope is an integral ingredient of being human.

Tirgan 2013 is dedicated to "hope." A festival of hope with which we celebrate the art and culture that keeps us hopeful in the power of humanity to persevere, overcome and survive. Throughout history, Iranians have had their share of natural and self-inflicted devastations, yet there is no more powerful indication of our hopefulness than our artistic and cultural heritage. Pluralism, diversity and the ability to embrace change is engrained in the Iranian psyche from the beginning of civilization. These foundational traits are most evidently crystallized in Iranian contemporary arts.

Just like our ancestors at the beginning of time, and throughout history during the peaks and valleys of civilization, Iranian artists have stood at the edge of threatened habitats and reached for the future with hope. Hope that the power of art and culture can shatter the thin but persistent layer of discrimination, injustice and brutality and expose the glowing core of beauty.

Iranian women have contributed equally, yet without equal opportunity, to the cultural mosaic that defined our identity. Iranian contemporary arts are shaped, in part, by members of our society whose voices are often unheard, whose image was taboo and whose legal standing was half of their male counterparts. Hope is nowhere more tangible than in the artistic landscape of a terrain called Iran. A landscape in which monuments of artistic and cultural accomplishment were also erected by women who shattered the immense burden imposed upon them by the man-made devastations that could only be overcome by hope.

Tirgan 2013 celebrates this hope by showcasing the best of what defines us as human beings who happen to be born in a certain terrain, which was reached by our hopeful ancestors who found the courage to defy extinction and reach for the future.

Babak Payami, Artistic Director

Acknowledgements

Harbourfront Centre Staff

William J.S. Boyle

Chief Executive Officer

Melanie Fernandez

Director, Community and Educational Programmes

Rodrigo Fritz

Project Coordinator

Diana Webley

Project Coordinator

Elizabeth Lubowitz

Head of Administration

Candace Shaw

Lead Artistic Associate

Georgia Barrington

Administrative Coordinator

Natalie Buckley

Administrative Assistant, Events

Ayesha Chatterjee

Administrative Assistant

Andrea Strachan

Event Production Manager

Kim Trollope

Technical Director

Scott Seetoo

Production Coordinator

Genevieve Peng

Volunteer Coordinator

Dorothy Szczurek

Assistant Volunteer Coordinator

Suzanne Wyman

Vendor Coordinator

Margaret Saliba

Vendor Assistant

TIRGAN STAFF

Mehrdad Ariannejad

Chief Executive Officer

Babak Payami

Artistic Program Director

Nima Ahmadi

Marketing and Sales Director

Arian Shojai

Operations Director

Behrouz Amouzgar

Public Relations Director

Aida Azarakhsh

Social Networks Coordinator

Ali Ehsassi

Tirgan Magazine Editor-in-Chief

Ali Nakhaei-Zadeh

Vendor Manager

Ali Toufighi

Guests & Dignitaries Coordinator

Arash Bina

IOS Programmer

Arezoo Araie

Sales Manager, Artistic Program Coordination

Arezoo Ossareh

Affiliates Coordinator

Arian Behshad

Artistic Program Coordinator + Information Booth Coordinator

Arsalan Alizadeh

Production Coordinator

Atefeh Zolghadr

Graphic Designer

Ava Naghavi

E-Newsletter Coordinator

Azadeh Ossareh

Liaison Coordinator

Azita Tayyeba

Client Services Manager

Behnaz Nikpour

Event Manager

Behzad Farzi

Zone Leaders Coordinator

Damoun Badiei

Venue Management

Delshad Emami

Weblog Coordinator

Ehsan Taghavi

Proofreading Coordinator

Ehsan Zaeem

Event Ticketing Manager

Fardad Kazemi

Video Production Coordinator

Honya Kordnejad

Community Outreach Coordinator

Hamoon Hayati

Information System Manager

Hosseinali Dadfar

Accounting Manager

Hoursheed Zare

Editorials & Translation Manager

Kimia Davodi

Media Sponsorship Coordinator

Mahsa Pezeshki

Guest Reception Manager

Mahyar Soeizi

Production Coordinator

Maral Parviznia

Guest Services Coordinator

Maryam Eskandari

Artistic Program Coordinator + Grant Manager

Matin Soeizi

Public Assistant Coordinator

Mercedeh Mohaghegh

Translation Coordinator

Mohsen Dezyanian

Media Relations Manager

Nasim Rad

Artistic Administration Manager

Nasrin Khatam

Logistics Manager

Nastaran Dadashi

Writing Coordinator

Niloufar Momeni

Internal Communication Coordination

Noushin Pirayeh

Volunteer Coordinator

Parinaz Lak

Marketing & Sales Administrator

Parisa Lak

Fundrasing Manager

Pendar Yousefi

Lead Graphic Designer

Saman Kashani

Marketing Manager

Sara Dezfouli

Administration Manager

Sara Khajeh

Site Operation Manager

Saviz Arzandeh

Public Affairs Manager

Shaghayegh Mobed

Operations Assistant

Shaghayegh Oghbaei

Media Coverage Coordinator

Shahram Maafi

Advertisement/Print Manager

Shahrzad Shahriari

Program Coordination

Shirin Motebaherinejad

Graphic Designer

Sohrab Pezeshki

Transportation Coordinator

On-site all the time

The Power Plant

The Power Plant

Sailing & Powerboating

Sailing & Powerboating

Lakeside Local

Lakeside Local Bar & Grill

The Centre Shop

The Centre Shop
A programme of the complexity and size of the 2013 festival season is only possible with the cooperation, contributions and hard work of every department and all members of the entire Harbourfront Centre staff and volunteer teams. We extend our thanks to them all.
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